Big bets are in the cards for Cambodia’s energy transformation, as Minister of Mines and Energy Keo Rottanak looks to meet ambitious targets by 2030
As Managing Director of Électricité du Cambodge, the entity responsible for the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity across Cambodia, Keo Rottanak oversaw impressive growth throughout 15 years in the influential position. Sitting behind his desk at the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME), adjacent to Phnom Penh’s central Wat Phnom, he’s proud of the quasi-government agency’s accomplishments during his tenure.
“When I joined, the household connection to the grid was 14 percent,” he said. “Today almost 90 percent of households are connected to the national grid and more than 50 percent of the power they use comes from renewable sources, compared to more than 90 percent from heavy fuel, oil and diesel 15 years ago.”
Now the head of the MME following Cambodia’s 2023 government shakeup under Prime Minister Hun Manet, Rottanak’s enthusiasm for tackling a new set of challenges is clear. He believes his knowledge of the sector puts him in a prime position to facilitate the ambitious energy goals of the new administration.
“My experience allows me to marry both the operational challenges and opportunities as well as to look at policy within a complete picture,” he explained with quiet confidence. “Normally you would have a bit of a disconnect, where politicians at the policy level won’t have experience from the field.”
These ambitions are reflected in the MME Policy Dialogue 7th Mandate, a document defining the goals and strategy of the government’s plans for the energy sector. Laying out Cambodia’s transition to clean energy, the mandate outlines the expansion of renewables in the sector, the diminishing but ongoing role of legacy technologies, and an emphasis on the importance of inter-ministerial and international cooperation to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
Seasoned observers of the sector were surprised, as some of these policies and developments are an about-face from the direction taken by the previous administration. One in particular was the cancellation of a 700-megawatt Koh Kong coal-fired power plant. Set to be built on land in the Botum Sakor national park, Prime Minister Hun Manet suggested that the would-be 1.5 billion USD project could instead be developed into a cleaner liquefied natural gas operation.
Previously, coal power was expected to have a growing role in the energy sector with a number of projects planned at locations around the country. However, an updated and ambitious goal of reaching 71 percent renewables in the nation’s energy mix by 2030 signals a reversal of the trend. Additional revisions to targets for renewable power generation further demonstrate the new government’s prioritisation of clean energy and the need to address the role of legacy technologies in the coming years.
“If you look at our energy policy going into 2030 and beyond 2040, coal will further shrink in terms of its share in the generation mix. It has to be this way,” Rottanak said, taking on a tone of gravity. “When our PM announced the cancellation of the 700-megawatt coal project in Koh Kong, it showed the world that we mean what we say.”
The scrapping of the coal-fire project was made official at the damming ceremony for the 150-megawatt Upper Tatay Hydroelectric Project at Botum Sakor. At the same event, the prime minister declared that no new hydroelectric dams will be developed on the Mekong mainstream, highlighting Cambodia’s complex navigation towards net-zero emissions.
Rottanak stands by the government’s commitment not to build dams on the Mekong mainstream, calling it “a matter of value judgement” and stating that “projects on the Mekong mainstream or hydro near the Tonlé Sap are simply a no-go.” He recognises the potential of hydropower as a source for renewable energy and an important part of the broader energy transition, with Cambodia having produced 44 percent of its total energy mix from domestic hydropower projects in 2021. However, Rottanak acknowledges the environmental and social impacts often associated with these types of energy projects.
“We employ economic and financial analysis tools but also go one step further by looking at projects beyond monetary value,” the minister said. “We all know very well about shadow and environmental costs.”
Developing a new hydro project usually takes between eight and 10 years with extensive studies, consultations and inter-ministerial cooperation required before approval. Rottanak emphasised that community outreach is also an important part of the process, with leaders of affected communities sometimes even being transported to existing projects to be shown the potential impacts and benefits that could be coming their way.
While hydropower projects continue to dominate Cambodia’s renewables sector, the new minister is bullish about the incorporation of other technologies into the nation’s energy mix.
“Hydropower should take a back seat and solar power should take a front seat,” he said. “Solar energy is easy to scale up, easy to deploy and it has less adverse impacts on the environment.”
According to the MME 7th Mandate, 31 percent of Cambodia’s renewables – accounting for 71 percent of total energy generation – should come from solar energy and pumped storage hydro by 2030. By 2040, renewables should account for 74 percent of the total energy mix. Solar power and pumped storage hydro are scheduled to represent 43 percent of this clean energy.
To drive this ambitious vision towards reality, the MME has developed a tariff scheme to encourage rooftop solar, leveraging financial incentives for both residential and commercial users.
“We’ve already started a discount programme and we’ve even adopted a new policy to eliminate the charges for rooftop solar deployment,” Rottanak stated during this interview, which took place in December 2023. “We used to charge industry and households (but) soon we are going to remove that charge so that people can start to scale up their rooftop solar.”
Expanding access and driving adoption of these technologies is an important part of increasing the impact of clean energy on the national grid. However, the intermittency of renewables – whether hydro, solar or wind power – remains an issue to be addressed.
“Intermittent renewable energy requires storage capacity, simply because we don’t have sunlight or wind 24 hours a day. We have to look into storage capacity,” Rottanak said.
While the potential of pumped hydro as a means to offset the fluctuations associated with renewables is important – Rottanak is confident a new 1,000-megawatt project will carry a significant portion of the future energy load – the MME recognises that it will not in itself be sufficient for the expected rise in energy demand of the country’s growing and diversifying economy.
“Pump-storage hydro projects require suitable geography. You cannot choose just anywhere to build,” he explained. “So we will be using both, some lithium-ion battery storage and some pumped-hydro storage to be able to leverage and regulate intermittency.”
Strategic application of these technologies is essential for the future of renewables in Cambodia. However, as demonstrated by the proposed replacement of coal with natural gas in Botum Sakor, legacy technologies will continue to play a role in the nation’s energy mix.
There are also plans to enhance and expand the domestic petroleum industry, through research, investment and regional cooperation. In particular, the Apsara field, an offshore oil deposit which has yet to be fully exploited due (in part) to overlapping claims issues with Thailand, is still seen as a promising enterprise. Rottanak takes a pragmatic approach to the role that petroleum may play in Cambodia’s future.
“Our government sees oil and gas as an interim strategy. It will help us with our current economic needs, it will help our transition to net-zero by 2050,” he said. “But we must also see that this is not a sustainable solution. Every time we extract oil and gas, it will have a counter-effect in terms of our commitment to climate change.”
The long-awaited Apsara field – marred by missed exploitation targets and the bankruptcy of the first oil company with a concession to explore – also demonstrates the importance of, and challenges to, regional cooperation for Cambodia’s energy future. The minister points out that plans for the ASEAN power grid (APG) have been around for 30 years but the network has yet to be realised. Instead, a number of bilateral energy agreements between countries have been signed, hinting at the potential of broader cooperation.
To this end, Rottanak has pushed dialogue with neighbouring countries such as Singapore. The island nation has recently signed on to receive up to one gigawatt of exported Cambodian solar energy.
“When we began our dialogue with Singapore,” the minister said, “we wanted to try and resuscitate [the APG] but there was still reluctance from some members. But after a year, some nations are willing to cooperate.”
While ASEAN-wide initiatives have not been solidified, growing alignment on increasing the use of renewables, improving infrastructure and expanding cross-border cooperation could prove Rottanak’s optimism justified.
“I am now encouraged more than ever that Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Singapore and perhaps even Thailand are willing to start phase one of the APG,” the minister said.
Rottanak and his team are looking to develop a technical task force that would consist of neighbouring utility providers backed up by ministers of energy and national leaders. He believes regional agreements will allow “electrons to flow” across multiple borders in the next five years, mitigating many of the energy challenges that face countries in the region.
However, for the ambitious new Minister of Mines and Energy, there is a more profound goal for collaboration across the sector.
“The way we see energy interconnectivity, it is more than just the supply of clean energy itself, it is more than just the commitment to the environment,” he said.
“It is about opening ways for Cambodians, for Singaporeans, Malaysians, Vietnamese, Laotians, Thais, to come closer together. Because at the end of the day we have a bigger agenda,” Rottanak said. “Each of us is not only about our own needs. It’s about the protection of our planet as well.”
Photography by Jack Malipan
